1,000-Year-Old Mummy From Pre-Inca Ychsma Culture Unearthed at Top of Pyramid in Peru

A mummy believed to be around 1,000 years old was discovered during an excavation in Peru. It was reportedly buried atop a pyramid.

Pre-Inca Ychsma Mummy Buried Atop a Pyramid in Peru

The mummy was found by researchers while conducting excavations at the Huaca Pucllana archaeological site. It belonged to the pre-Incan Ychsma civilization.

The mummy was discovered at the summit of the pyramid, in the center of a residential neighborhood in the Peruvian capital of Lima. The body was interred in a straightforward, circular tomb.

The Huaca Pucllana is a sizable clay pyramid in the city's Miraflores neighborhood that is more than 70 feet tall. The monument, which has seven staggered platforms, was built by Lima culture, which emerged on the central coast of Peru between A.D. 200 and 700.

The location was a significant ceremonial hub for these prehistoric people. The evidence points to the site's primary use as a location for ceremonial events, though other administrative activities may have taken place there.

Before Spanish colonialism, the location was occupied for three distinct periods. Huaca Pucllana was initially occupied by the Lima culture, a civilization that built it and lived there between A.D. 400 and 700.

The Huari culture used the location between A.D. 800 and 900 as their next stop. Last, Huaca Pucllana has been the site of Ychsma habitation since the beginning of the second millennium. It was the location's final pre-Hispanic habitation.

Archaeologists discovered a personal tomb with human remains at the pyramid's peak connected to the Ychsma culture as a result of excavations carried out this year. According to a statement from the Huaca Pucllana site museum, a portion of the building had to be dismantled to make room for the tomb.

The person was discovered by archaeologists inside the tomb, sitting flexed and with his face turned toward the south. The body was covered in a plain fabric, only some of which had survived.

Archaeologists could date the burial to the early Ychsma civilization thanks to the grave's accompanying relics, which included pottery vessels. At the Huaca Pucllana location, mummies and ancient offerings have already been discovered. However, no Ychsma burial objects previously unearthed at the location have the kind of adornment as in the recently discovered grave.

A significant site like the Huaca Pucllana ceremonial center is still preserved in the middle of Miraflores, amid the city, surrounded by contemporary buildings and constructions, according to Mirella Ganoza, an archaeologist with the Huaca Pucllana Site Museum.

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More About The Ychsma Culture

Ychsma is a pre-Inca indigenous kingdom known as Ichma, Ychma, Yschma, Ichmay, Irma, Izma, Ishmay, or Ishma. In old Quechua, it means cinnabar, vermilion, or crimson color. The Inca Empire eventually assimilated and reorganized the culture as a wanami (province).

Its native name, Ishma, was not used by the Inca, who used Pachakamaq (Pachacamac) instead. The Ishmay Kingdom was established in the Lurn River valley, south of Lima, Peru, and eventually expanded into the Rimac River valley to the north.

After the Wari Empire disintegrated in A.D. 1100, the Ishma civilization emerged. The independence of the Ishma people lasted until 1469, when they were incorporated into the Incan Empire.

Ychsma dominated the area south of Lima in the Lurin Valley before the rise of the Inca. The Ichma people spoke Aymara - a language spoken by the Aymara people of the Andes and some Bolivians.

They are credited with constructing at least 16 pyramids, including the Huaca Huantille in the Magdalena del Mar and the Huaca San Borja in the San Borja District. And they appeared to have used Huaca Pucllana as a burial ground.